Channel 5 star Ben Fogle has tackled the wilderness in his popular New Lives in the Wild series and been on TV screens for over 25 years. But in a gushing new post, the star revealed his "most important and favourite job" is being a father to the two children he shares with his wife Marina – including his teen son who is all grown up and towering over him already.
Ben's 16-year-old son Ludovic, who they call Ludo, was his double in matching jeans and a crisp white button-up shirt in rare new photos posted on the TV star's social media recently. Ben had his arm affectionately wrapped around his son in one photo as they both smiled with a lush garden and blue skies in the background. Another snap captured the candid moment their dog jumped up and muddied Ben's bright white shirt.
"I love being a dad," Ben, who also has a 14-year-old daughter named Iona, captioned the pictures.
Ben's 'favourite' job
"It’s my most important and favourite job. It isn’t always easy," he continued the lengthy caption. "There is a saying that the role of a parent is neither an anchor to hold them back nor a sail to propel them forward, but a lighthouse beacon to illuminate the path."
© Instagram/@benfogleHe continued: "We are there to gently guide and nurture. Teach and explain. Help and listen. And to calibrate life’s moral compass, emotional intelligence and critical thinking. (And remind them that a freshly laundered white shirt can in fact be enhanced and improved with muddy paw prints)" he joked about his slightly-ruined shirt in the pictures.
"But it goes both ways," he acknowledged, admitting that he learns "so much" from his two children.
"It’s like having new eyes on the world. A renewed perspective," he explained. Less cynicism and more hopefulness. They remind me that we can be flexible. It’s a wildly complicated world but love, humility and open mindedness can help us steer through the chaos."
Ben's family life
Ben and his wife Marina tied the knot in 2006 and have been happily married for 19 years. They welcomed Ludo in 2009 and their daughter Iona in 2011, and have been candid over the years about the loss of their son Willem, who was stillborn in August 2014.
The family currently lives in a £2.2 million home in Henley-upon-Thames, Oxfordshire, which sits on 1.3 acres of land and is surrounded by nature.
© Instagram"I love spending time with the children, that's my favourite thing," Ben previously told Best Quality Designer Handbag during an interview in 2019.
"I'm obviously away a huge amount so to actually be with the children I love for us to go on adventures together. We travel a lot around the world and Great Britain - we're very lucky to do that - and nothing gives me more pleasure than introducing them to a place, some people, some animals… I love seeing the inspiration in their eyes."
Ben revealed that his son "loves animals". He added: "We have a black Labrador called Storm who he absolutely loves. My father – his grandfather – was a vet and he loves going to the veterinary clinic and sitting in on the operations and sitting in on the consultations so I know he would love to work with animals one day."
